


One in the same

by writer171105



Category: Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Gen, Secrets, Secrets Revealed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27820225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writer171105/pseuds/writer171105
Summary: Synopsis :Rumor has it that Batman wasn't alone when he started out, he had a partner fighting besides him, his brother-in-arms, known as "Nightwing". That is, until Nightwing disappears, and Robin takes his place.*I own nothing but the plot! *
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/ Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Nightwing & Team
Kudos: 35
Collections: Dickbabs





	1. Chapter 1

Part 1: (247 words)

“The League was there when Nightwing was killed. They were fighting an evil warlock at the time. One second, Nightwing was there, poised to attack, the next he was gone, a bundle of clothes in his place. He was never heard from again.”  
With that final, spooky, statement, Wally switched off the torch that had previously illuminated his face, grinning maniacally as M’gann switched on the lights.

“Wow, that was really scary, Baywatch,” Artemis scoffed.  
“It’s true!” Wally insisted, “Uncle Barry was there. He’s the one who told me the story. It happened four years ago. Come on, Rob. Back me up a little here!”  
“Actually, Wally,” Robin replied, “It was five years ago.”  
“So it did actually happen then?”  
“Yes.”  
“What did happen to Nightwing?”  
Robin shrugged, “No one knows. Some think he was transported to another dimension, others say he was sent back in time. The most popular theory is that he was killed.”

..::-::..

“How was ‘Bonding-time’?” Bruce asked as Dick arrived back at the Batcave.  
“We supposedly told scary stories, but none of them actually were. Wally told them the “Nightwing’ story.”  
Bruce tensed slightly.  
“I wish Barry hadn’t told it to him.”  
“It’s okay, Bruce,” Dick insisted, coming to stand besides him, “The spell is irreversible, I’ve accepted that. Besides, it’s been five years. I’ve adjusted.”  
“Yeah,” Bruce replied, “Adjusted to the maturity of a child.”  
Dick gasped in mock offense, “How dare you say such things? I am perfectly mature! And Batman joking? What will the team have to think of this?”

Before Bruce could catch him, Dick was already half-way towards the zeta-beam, cackling wildly as he thought of the team’s reaction to a humorous Batman.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to tell them.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Synopsis :
> 
> Rumor has it that Batman wasn't alone when he started out, he had a partner fighting besides him, his brother-in-arms, known as "Nightwing". That is, until Nightwing disappears, and Robin takes his place.

Part 2: (375 words)

When Robin arrived, the cave was ominously silent. That put Robin onto immediate alert. He crept through the hallways, sticking to the shadows in his search for his missing team-mates.

He found them in the main briefing room, unconsciously sprawled on the floor. From a distance, he noticed something vaguely different about them from a distance, and he only realised what it was when he got closer. Just as he worked out what it meant, something hit him in the back, causing him to cry out in pain, as he fell unconscious besides his team-mates.

..::-::..

Surprisingly, although being the last to be hit, Robin was the first to wake, blinking his bleary eyes open slowly. As soon as the fog in his mind cleared, he noticed something different, he felt different, but in an oddly familiar way. Standing up, he realised why.

He was taller, probably by a few feet, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. It had probably torn during his rapid growth spurt. He still, luckily, had his pants on, as they had stretched thanks to their spandex fabrication. It seemed as though he had been… up-aged? Was that the right word?

Robin shook his head. Back to the matter at hand. Whoever had done this to them was probably still there and had evidently not expected them to wake up as early as he had, as neither he nor any of his team-mates had been in any way restrained.

He couldn’t, however, take on any sort of insane sorcerer in his current get-up. Good thing Bats were always prepared.

He crept to the room he stayed in while at the cave,suspicious of the lack of activity. Inputting the access code, he entered his room, locking the door behind him. Going over to his closet, he felt inside for a particular knot in the wood. Having found it, he pressed down hard, causing one of the back panels to disappear from view.

Robin smirked slightly, picking up the suit and mask that lay beneath. Removing any trace of Robin from his person, mask included, he changed into the new suit, the one he hadn’t donned for the last 5 years.

Picking up the new, dark blue, domino mask, he smiled to himself.

Time for Nightwing to return from the dead.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Synopsis :
> 
> Rumor has it that Batman wasn't alone when he started out, he had a partner fighting besides him, his brother-in-arms, known as "Nightwing". That is, until Nightwing disappears, and Robin takes his place.

Part 3: (536 words)

Nightwing snuck back silently through the corridors, his black and blue suit blending into the shadows far better than his more recent attire.

He waited in the shadows of the doorway, seeing that his team-mates were regaining consciousness. He didn’t want them to see him quite yet.

In reality, it was quite funny to watch them as they realised their… predicament. Wally was flexing his non-existent, muscles, M’gann was attempting to change back using her powers, unsuccessfully, Conner was sulking, Kaldur looked uncomfortable and Artemis was staring at the floor looking traumatised.

Nightwing was struggling not to let a more Robin-like cackle loose from his throat at the sight, although he supposed that he would have reacted the same way if he wasn’t used to his adult state, even if he hadn’t been a n adult for five years.

An eerie laugh erupted through the halls, chilling everyone except Nightwing. Klarion emerged, stroking his stupid cat with a grin that could rival the Joker’s.  
“Well,” he began, “Looks like the ‘Baby League’ is finally awake, although, they’re not so baby anymore”  
His grin became impossibly wider as he scanned the room, but it abruptly left his face as he did so.  
“The bird-boy had disappeared. No matter, we shall sort him out later.”  
His grin returned.  
“Now, who wants to be the first to join my little game?”

“I’ve got an idea,” came an unfamiliar voice from the shadows, “How about we just don’t start at all?”

A black and blue blur descended from the rafters, landing on top of the witch-boy with escrima- sticks brandished threateningly. The absurdly-striped cat started to hiss and claw at the mysterious figure as a fight broke out.

The team stood dumbly, unable to move as they were unsure of what to do. Afterall, it was only Wally who recognised their saviour.

..::-::..

Wally gaped at the man attacking their attacker. He couldn’t believe his eyes! His idol, his hero (don’t tell Barry) was saving their butts after having thought to be dead for the past 5 years. 

That posed some questions; How was he alive? And how did he gain access to the cave in the first place?

While Wally was thinking, the brawl had taken a turn.

Nightwing now had Klarion by the throat and the cat in a throttle-hold.  
“Klarion,” Nightwing said darkly, with a glare to rival Batman’s, “You change everyone back to normal, or the cat gets it. I might have a ‘no-kill’ rule, but it does not extend as far as evil cats.”  
Klarion visibly wilted under his gaze, threatened by the loss of his familiar. He eventually relented, speaking a few foreign words. The team sighed with relief as they returned to the way they had been previously. Nightwing did the same when he stayed as he was.

Nightwing let go of the two villains, glare not relenting.

“Now,” he spoke darkly, “Get. The hell. Out. If you ever dare to threaten anyone again, neither you nor the cat will be so lucky.”  
Klarion nodded meekly, looking as if he was about to wet his pants. He disappeared with a loud ‘pop’. 

Nightwing then turned to the team, looking over them to make sure that they were alright.

M’gann gasped suddenly, startling everyone in the room.  
“Where’s Robin?” she asked.

And that was when Batman came in.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Synopsis :
> 
> Rumor has it that Batman wasn't alone when he started out, he had a partner fighting besides him, his brother-in-arms, known as "Nightwing". That is, until Nightwing disappears, and Robin takes his place.

Part 4:

Batman came striding into the room, but stopped abruptly when he laid eyes on Nightwing.

To say he was surprised to see his ‘brother’ turned ‘ward turned ‘brother’ again was an understatement. Shocked would probably be a better description. He simply stood there, not gaping (because Batman never gapes), in silence.

Nightwing gave him a slight smile, walked over and gave him a hug.

Now, it was the team’s turn to be shocked, for two reasons; Wally’s story was true, and secondly, Nightwing was hugging Batman who returned the gesture and he was smiling! Smiling! Batman never smiles!

The two older heroes broke apart and stepped to the side of the room, speaking quietly in hushed voices. Artemis glanced at Conner who shrugged meaning that he couldn’t hear them. M’gann linked the team up.

‘I don’t understand,’ Artemis started, ‘Who is this guy? And where’s Robin? Klarion mentioned that he was here, unless there’s another ‘bird-boy’ around.’  
‘The guy Batman is talking to is Nightwing,’ Wally explained, ‘As for where Rob is, I have no idea. He’s probably hiding in the vents or something.’

Artemis frowned. It wasn’t like Robin to hide away once the villains had gone. He was a people person. He’d be standing with them, cracking jokes or coming up with some more stupid prefixes. No, something was wrong.

Artemis relayed her thoughts to the others through the mind link, her team-mates listening carefully before agreeing with her views.

It was then that some of the other League members entered.

Flash came in first, dashing straight over to Wally to make sure that he was okay. Wally explained to the League what had happened, gesturing over to Nightwing as he did so. The Leaguers looked over towards the two Gothamites as they finished speaking and joined the main group.

In an instant, Nightwing was nearly knocked over as Flash barreled into him, the others soon joining in on the bear-hug. The team simply watched as Batman smirked. Nightwing seemed to have a strange effect on the Dark Knight.

Eventually, things calmed down, but none of the Leaguers had yet to notice Robin’s absence, so Kaldur spoke up.

“Has anyone seen Robin?”

Nightwing looked slightly startled, before glancing straight at Batman, who nodded slightly in agreement. Nightwing rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he addressed the group of heroes.

“Well, here’s the thing,” he began, “I am Robin.”


	5. Part 5

The team and the League, Batman excluded, stared at Nightwing dumbfoundedly.

“Bu-but you can’t be!” Wally stuttered, unable to believe that his best friend was also his hero.  
“Why not, Wally?” Nightwing asked, crossing his arms over his crest with a raised eyebrow, “Who else would know that you snuck into my house last night and stole all o f Agent A’s cookies?”

“Did you steal Agent A’s cookies?” Flashed asked him.  
Wally nodded reluctantly.  
“And you didn’t leave any for me?!”

“Wait, hold on a second,” Artemis protested, bringing Flash back to the matter at hand, “How can you be both Nightwing and Robin? Robin was 13 years old, while you’re clearly an adult.”

“That’s where my problems started,” Nightwing explained, “You see, that night when I disappeared, I was hit by a spell that turned me into an eight year old child. Batman and I figured out that the spell was irreversible, so I was stuck like that. I obviously could be Nightwing anymore, so I became Robin instead, and I’ve been Robin for the past five years. Klarion's spell today reversed the original spell put on me, so I changed back to the way I was before."

The team and the League just stared at him, and Nightwing began to feel awkward. He glanced over to Batman who stood besides him. The Dark Knight nodded his head slightly in the direction of the zeta-beams. Nightwing caught on to his meaning and quietly slipped away while the others were still processing everything, following Batman while quickly making some adjustments on his holo-glove. 

As they made their way back to the Batcave, the zeta-beams announced their departure to the remaining occupants.   
"Batman-02; Nightwing B01" 

…::-::.. 

Bruce chuckled as they arrived back in the cave, "How did you change the designation so quickly?"   
Dick grinned, removing his mask, "Who do you take me for?"   
"Dick Grayson."   
"Fair enough." 

"Master Bruce?" questioned the British butler from behind them.   
The two men turned and Dick smirked slightly when he saw Alfred's face.   
"Hey, Alfie. It was Wally who stole your cookies last night by the way." 

…::-::...

Barbara Gordon sighed. It had been 5 years since Dick Grayson, the man she thought she would marry one day, had been killed. 

He had died on the job, his night job, that is, which she did know about. She was Batgirl! How could she not know? 

She had tried dating a few guys since then, none of which lasted longer than a week. Dick had raised the bar too high, and Barbara was not going to lower her standards. 

She found herself one night sitting on the edge of the Wayne Enterprises rooftop, thinking about Dick as the breeze swept through her hair. 

She and Dick had been the same age, both 4 years younger than Bruce, and he would be 29 that year. 

Babs sighed. It was no good to dwell on the past, time to look forward to the future. 

"Babs," spoke Dick's voice inside her head. Babs shook it. She must change her mind, think about something else.   
"Babs," it spoke again, persistently trying to get her attention.   
"No," Barbara said softly, "It's not real, it's not! Stop trying to convince yourself otherwise!"   
"Babs!" the voice said loudly, as she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

Barbara turned sharply, poised to attack her assailant, but stopped as soon as she saw who it was. 

Dick, or rather Nightwing, stood there, looking slightly surprised at her reaction, but please all the same. Babs leant back warily. 

"Dick?" she asked quietly, unwilling to believe what was in front of her eyes, afraid of another heartbreak, "Is that really you?"   
Dick's lips curved into a small smile, "It's me, Babs, I promise. I'm right here."   
"No," Babs said, "you, you can't be, you died!"   
"I didn't die," Dick replied, "Trust me, Babs. I'm here." 

Babs inched away from him, fearing him to be another illusion, and she lost her balance on the edge of the roof. 

She felt herself begin to fall, and she didn't have her grapple gun with her at the time. So she leaned back into fate, not doing anything to slow her descent. 

That is, until a strong arm wrapped around her, and she distantly heard the sound of a cord retracting. Before she knew what was happening, she was back on the rooftop, safely wrapped in Dick's arms. 

"Don't do that, Babs," he said, shakily, "I can't have another person I love fall to their deaths."   
"Oh, Dick!" Babs cried softly, a few tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, "it really is you!"


	6. Part 6

"Oh my word!" Babs laughed, leaning back in her chair, "I can't believe that you were turned into a child!"   
"It's not funny!" Dick grumbled.   
"It is, actually."   
"You didn't have to live with it."   
"Hum, fair enough." 

The pair sat in silence for a minute, watching the people come and go past the restaurant window. 

"Look, Babs," Dick said, eventually, "I'm sorry I put you through all that. I should have told you, not led you to believe that I was dead."   
"It's fine, Dick." Babs said, honestly, putting one of her hands over his, "What you did was completely understandable in the circumstances."   
Dick gave her a small smile, "Thanks, Babs. That's why I love you." 

…::-::...

"You're what?"   
"We're getting married," Dick repeated, holding Babs by the hand.   
Barbara nodded her head slightly in agreement, "After what happened to Dick, we decided that we should make the most of the lives we have to live. It was a mutual agreement."   
She was looking up at Dick adoringly while she spoke, holding onto him tightly as if afraid he would disappear. 

After thinking about it for a moment, Bruce enthusiastically congratulated the pair, and instantly agreed to be Dick's best man when asked. 

As they were leaving, Bruce spoke loudly, "I expect to see some kids around here sometime soon!"   
"BRUCE!" 

…::-::...

Nightwing had been back to the cave quite a few times since the Klarion incident. Wally had begun to accept his friend's status as his hero, and the others were getting used to the idea of being almost 10 years younger than him. 

Things were starting to settle down again, until Nightwing dropped another bombshell of news on them again. 

It was one morning while the team was at the cave. Conner was watching static on TV, M'gann was burning cookies in the kitchen, Artemis was failing to beat Wally at the game they were playing and Kaldur was reading. Nightwing had yet to arrive. 

The zeta beams soon announced his arrival, a guest being listed straight after him.   
All heads went up, wondering who it could be. 

All questions were answered as he came in, a red-haired woman in a cowl similar to Batman's walking beside him. The pair was talking animatedly as they did so., Nightwing laughing in a Robin-like cackle.

"Hey, 'Wing," Wally greeted, "Who' s the other red-head?"   
"I'm Batgirl," she replied, "Nightwing's fiancé." 

If anyone had been drinking anything at the time, it would have been sprayed across the room. As it was, the worst thing that happened was Wally fainting onto the floor.   
Artemis shrugged," Typical Baywatch."

…::-::...

It was about 3 weeks later, while Nightwing was patrolling in the Batmobile (because Batman was otherwise occupied in a conversation with Catwoman) that they met. 

He had parked the Batmobile along Crime Alley while he went to stop a robbery, and when he came back, he found that it was missing 3 of its 4 tires. Wondering who would dare to steal the tires from the Baymobile, he crept around so he could see the other side of the vehicle, where the last remaining tire was situated. 

He heard small grunts coming from that general area, and he looked around to be rewarded with the sight of the tire thief. A thief dressed in rags who looked to be about 12 years old. 

Nightwing cleared his throat, causing the boy to drop the tools he was holding and jump to his feet, on alert.   
"you know, stealing tires from the Batmobile is not the best idea if you don't want to be caught."   
"I wasn't planning to be caught," the kid replied.   
Nightwing chuckled. One sentence and he was already starting to take a liking to the kid. 

"Who are you anyway?" the boy asked, "You're not Batman"   
“No, I'm not, " Nightwing agreed," I'm his brother and, if you would come with me I just might be able to do something to help you… "  
" Jason, "the boy filled in for him," Jason Todd. "


	7. Part 7

Part 7

“Bruce, we have to tell them, we can’t go on like this!”  
“I don’t see why not.”  
“I experienced it,” Dick explained, “The team all know each other’s real identities, but they never knew mine and that meant that our trust didn’t go as far as it did with the others. I’m not letting that happen to Jason as well.”  
Bruce narrowed his eyes at Dick as he thought it through, eventually nodding his head.

“I see your point,” he agreed, “but you must tell them the rules.”  
Dick gave a small nod of agreement before leaving the Batcave, going up to the manor.

“Well, what did he say?”  
Dick put on a stoney face, “He said it’s alright.”  
“Yes!” Jason cheered, pumping his fist into the air.  
“But they have to listen to the rules. Once your identity is known to them, the rest of ours are easy to work out, so they have to be careful.”  
“Okay, I’ll explain it to them. Are you going to be there too?”  
Dick grinned, “Of course! Who else is going to help you make things interesting?”  
Jason grinned mischievously in response, his eyes lighting up.  
“Alright, let’s do this then.”

…::-::...

“So, Jay,” Nightwing said as he walked into the mountain’s living room with Robin besides him, “How’s school going?”  
“Eh, it’s okay, I guess. I mean, history is pretty boring but bio is good. Thanks for asking, Dick.”

The team stared at the pair in utter confusion. What was going on? Who was ‘Jay’ and ‘Dick’? None of the heroes had names remotely similar, and the two Bats seemed to be talking to each other. They couldn’t be using their real names, surely?

“Bruce was really moody on patrol yesterday,” Robin continued, “he barely spoke, just pointing to where he wanted me to go and grunting if I asked a question.”  
Nightwing nodded, “it’s probably because of the discussion we had last night. I’m not 100% sure that he was happy with the idea, but I got him to see my point of view.”

Artemis was very confused, so she spoke to the others over the mindlink, excluding Nightwing and Robin, ‘Guys, what am I witnessing?’  
‘I have no idea,’ M’gann replied, her eyes focused on the pair in question, ‘I do not know any of the names they mention, although they seem to be calling each other by those names. Do you think…?’

It was then that Wally came in, grinning as he walked over to the Bats.  
“Hey, Dick, Jason,” he greeted, “What’s up? Bruce as grumpy as usual?”  
The team continued to stare. Whatever it was, Wally was in on it too.

“Nah,” Robin replied, “He’s worse. Dick seems to think that it has to do with their conversation last night, which is probably right.”  
“Oh, yeah, about that,” Wally questioned, “Do you think they understand what’s happening right now?”  
Nightwing glanced around at the team.  
“No,” he shook his head, “they’re all looking at us weirdly.”  
Robin rolled his eyes beneath his mask, “Seriously? How else can we make it more obvious. Should I say, “My name is Jason Todd”, or do you want to say it?”

Artemis’ mouth was now hanging open. Did he just say what she thought he said?

“I’ve got an idea,” Nightwing smirked, “Why don’t we just take off our masks and see if they recognize us. They should be able to.”

Robin (Jason?), smirked back at the older hero and they removed their masks simultaneously.

The team stared, not believing their eyes. Did that really just happen? Nightwing and Robin, the two most secretive members of the team, removing their masks?

“Hey,” Nightwing grinned, “for those who don’t recognize us by sight, He’s Jason Todd,” he pointed to Robin, “and I’m Richard Grayson, but you can call me Dick.”

Artemis, the only other Gothamite of the group, stared at them in shock. Dick Grayson and Jason Todd were famous in Gotham, being the adopted brother and son of Bruce Wayne and all. Speaking of Bruce Wayne…  
“Oh my gosh,” Artemis mumbled, “Bruce Wayne is Batman.”

…::-::...

“Wally knew all along, didn’t he?”  
The aforementioned grinned in response, and the team took that as a ‘yes’.  
“Who’s Batgirl then?”  
“Barbara Gordon,” Dick answered instantly.  
“You married Barbara Gordon? The commissioner’s daughter?”  
“Yes.”  
“Okay, I was not expecting that.”  
“Still can’t believe that Bruce Wayne is Batman.”  
“You live in a mansion!”  
“Manor, actually”  
“Where’s the Batcave?”  
“Beneath the manor. Where else?”

Batman came striding into the room while they were talking, and all Artemis could think about was the face beneath the cowl.

‘What is my life coming to?’

And that was when Roy came in. 

He was one of the few in the hero community not to know of Nightwing's incident or the new Robin, although the Batfam's identities were known to him. 

He stopped dead in his tracks when he entered and layed eyes on the group, looking completely confused when he saw the older version of one of his best friends and another unknown person wearing their suit. 

Catching onto his confusion, Dick ushered the others out of the room, Batman included, and he began to explain all that had happened those past few months to Roy. 

The others, who were in the next room, were able to hear the conversation that followed, largely due to Roy's enraged shouts. 

"Seriously?! You've kept this secret for so long? I was supposed to be your best friend, yet you didn't tell me?" 

"Oh, boy" Jason muttered, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, "This is going to take a while." 

…::-::... 

Once the pair had made up, and with Wally joining them, they left the cave for what they called a "much needed bros night", which translated into "going to watch a movie and get pizza" 

Artemis, Jason, Barbara and Bruce simply shook their heads at the trio. 

"Idiots" Artemis thought fondly.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that what is actually happening in the story so far isn't exactly clear, but it will be explained later on. I hope you enjoy 🥰


End file.
